Schultz is very unimpressive. Erskine needs to be back in the lineup and Schultz needs to be back in Hershey. Right now he's a liability more then an asset. We got 20 to go and down 1, lets hope they come out fired up to make a comeback.

Is Laughlin on crack! I just heard him talking about how he covered Gretzsky when Edmonton played the Caps. AHHHH, News Flash that was Bengt Gustafsson. Wake up Laugher, it wasn't that long ago. Was it?

Really, though I despise the Pens, I thought they played, really, a pretty good game. The first goal was undeserved and the second goal was just an unlucky 7-holer.

And the Caps had about 7 thousand almosts. Backstrom had the most memorable in my mind, as he nearly had his first. But that same thing happened a few other times, with the puck trickling towards the post or just laying in the crease.

I just hope they can generate some serious offense against the Lightning.

You know, we hear every year about how much money Teddy Bear is going to lose because of poor attendance. Guess what, I could care less how much money that man loses, he's the reason he's losing it. By refusing to spend money on a decent players the past few seasons, the Caps are trying to play catch up in a league that has taken off because other GM's and coaches have the knowledge to know what is best for their team. I wish Ted would realize that OV is not going to conquer the NHL by himself. The Caps will not win the Cup because of OV. Ted and GMGM need a serious reality check. Below is my list of things that need to be changed in order for this team to be successful:

1. Glen Hanlon needs to be removed
2. GMGM needs to be removed
3. We need to find a young, talented goaltender and get rid of Kolzig
4. Joe Motzko must GO!!!!! Watching him skate reminds me of those Slowsky's commercials for Verizon DSL!!
5. Need more stable defensemen and Schultz needs to go.
6. Our 3 & 4 lines are solid. We need some adjustments on lines 1 & 2.
7. Brashear needs to be the pylon in front of the goal on the PP....not Clark or Pettinger
8. When we have a PP, we need to SHOOT
9. When we have the puck in the offensive zone, we need to SHOOT!!!
10. We need to win games to make the playoffs
11. We need a new OWNER cause Teddy Bear is awful.

Here we go again.
I posted after the last game about how puckguru was saying how many positives he seen in the loss. And yet again I see some of the same comments not just here but even on the CSN broadcast--how they played a great game and deserved to win.

This team needs to make a change so bad it's pathetic. Kozlov is very unimpressive and needs to be on the second line. Put Nylander or Backstrom up w/ Ovie. Second line can be Kozlov, Semin, whoever...the caps are not deep at all same as last year.

Wonder how Teddy feels now that he wasted money on SECOND TIER players like Kozlov, Nylander, and Poti.

Ben Clymer scored two for Hershey tonight (playing on the right wing) in the Bears' first win of the season. As much as I'd like to see Bourque, if Motzko does go down Clymer might be the one to come back up.

There is a great coaching replacement in London Ontario. He has a five year reg season winning percentage of .690, he has won a Championship in his five year plan, he has groomed many of his players into top rated players in the NHL draft and beyond, and two of his players were drafted in the top five this year! OH woops, that's right GMGM past on Gagner. That coach would be Dale Hunter! Tradition, Credibility, and no BS! SKATE, HIT HARD, SCORE, and WIN; Things that Hanlon just doesn't seem to comprehend.

Ted doesn't want anything to do with this teams tradition before he took over. He canned Bondra and refuses to bring him back even though I guarantee he could add something more the Kozlov, Nylander and Poti have added so far. There is no way he would go for bringing Hunter in as a coach. I personally think it would be a great idea, but Ted is so wrapped up watching himself in the new HD screens at the arena that he can't figure out what the team needs.

Hey Glen,
Sorry I missed your call. No problem, I'd be glad to help you dealing with the media and the fans. When they ask about the playoffs, get a real intense bug eyed look on your face and scream, "PLAYOFFS, PLAYOFFS, You're asking about PLAYOFFS? We're just trying to win a GAME." Good luck, I hope it works for you.

The Caps showed some life tonight. Too bad it wasn't enough to put the puck in the net. Very glad to see Gordon back. Even more glad to see Motzco sent back to Hershey. The PP still sucks. And we still need a solid RW. And whoever thought Pothier would score from the blueline? I know it is still early in the season, but the bleeding needs stop NOW!

I will post again tomorrow about this. I said this at the end of last season. Fire Hanlon, promote Boudreu from Hershey. This team needs a spark. We have one of the best players in the game, and you stick and AHL'er on the same line with him. Better yet, you use that AHL'er on the point of a power play. Boudreu deserves a NHL coaching job, what better place than Washington, he coached a bunch of the Caps players anyway. The players will soon tune out Hanlon if they haven't already. Oh yea, fire McPhee too. All he does is draft 4th line players anyway.

They played good enough to win. They could use more from everybody, but the weak links in a tight game were, IMO, line balance, discipline, and PP (prolly not enough chances on PP today to make a difference, but one word: Motzko)

Onto Mitch's list:
1. Glen Hanlon needs to be removed
- agreed; realistically, not before Christmas
2. GMGM needs to be removed
- not sure; realistically, not before summer
3. We need to find a young, talented goaltender and get rid of Kolzig
- agreed; but we have 'em, and will have to wait.. nobody is going to replace a living deity
4. Joe Motzko must GO!!!!! Watching him skate reminds me of those Slowsky's commercials for Verizon DSL!!
- he did ok as filler, I thought; then Hanlon overdosed and put him on PP, like somebody here mentioned.
5. Need more stable defensemen and Schultz needs to go.
- Erskine > Schultz, yep; #55 is stuck in no man's land, a big guy trying to play like a speedy midget.
6. Our 3 & 4 lines are solid. We need some adjustments on lines 1 & 2.
- I'd say 4 is solid as a rock :) As great as 3 will probably be defensively, if it continues to contribute zero offense, its a Pyrrhic victory, not good enough.
7. Brashear needs to be the pylon in front of the goal on the PP....not Clark or Pettinger
- hell, lets try it; just keep Motzko away from the point.
8. When we have a PP, we need to SHOOT
- it helps!
9. When we have the puck in the offensive zone, we need to SHOOT!!!
- for every electrOvechkin, there is a posiNylander; maybe that's why Hanlon is keeping them away from each other!
10. We need to win games to make the playoffs
- can't think of a rebuttal
11. We need a new OWNER cause Teddy Bear is awful.
- it won't be me, because I'm starting to spend too much time discussing the Caps instead of earning money!

Mitch,
Very good post earlier, I agree with many of your points except Ted is not the owner who needs to go, it's Dick Patrick. The team has been run by Dick for the past ten years, and they have performed up to his name since his tenure. Ted has been trying and has accomplished some great things w/ the team but relied on the wrong people for too long. Also, Olie can still play strong. Yes I did see the last game. I saw his D providing a hell of a good screen in front of him. The D have to either block the shot or get the hell out of the way, and give the goalie the lane to make the save. That's a system thing even PeeWee coaches can work out.
This team turns their backs on too many of their great character players. Hunter, Johansson, Langway, to name a few. Even watching how they treated Halpern was a shame. Yes, I know it's a business, but look at how many quality players or asst. coaches went through this organization to end up coaching or working in the front office of other NHL organizations. Konowalchuck gets drafted by the Caps plays for years here, then plays for the Av's for maybe a half a year, finds out he can no longer play and the Av's immediately hire him in the front office. Why don't they get jobs here? Is GMGM afraid they will expose the fact that he is over his head. We know Hanlon is.
And O'neal, Olie not playing was Hanlon's decision.
Lastly, Hunter would be one hell of a great choice as coach. He'll be coaching in the NHL soon, and if it's not here you'll know the team's new motto. "The Washington Capital's, 100% commitment to mediocrity!"

Backstrom - Thought he had his first one, tonight. So bloody close! I like his passing and plays away from the puck. He'll be a good one in a year or two. Really good.

OV - What more to say? He had 5 or 6 hits tonight? He's a complete package.

It was nice to see Gordon back.

It seemed that they couldn't hold the zone. The puck kept skipping over their sticks. Was the ice bad? Or were they playing with sticks with holes?

They did give an effort out there tonight. It was a disappointing loss. Johnson looked OK in net. Nothing really special. A few good saves. They still had problems clearing the zone. Their attempts at trying to carry the puck into the offensive zone were not usually successful - again. And what's with all of the 5-3's?

Someone mentioned that Hanlon needed to go and that they should make sure that they don't get an AHL replacement like Cassidy. Hanlon was AHL before coming to us. In case GMGM hasn't noticed yet, this is the NHL, not the AHL.

good point about bringing in caps players for office. who can recognize & train up good players. hunter is turning out to be a good coach and seems to be running a lot of the business up there. bondra to work on power skating & power play. oates on passing & positioning. people are right that these hires are easier if the mngtmt doesnt tick off all the players.